International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials

Vol.8, No.4, pp.301–307, December 2014

DOI 10.1007/s40069-014-0078-z
ISSN 1976-0485 / eISSN 2234-1315

A Study on High Performance Fine-Grained Concrete Containing Rice

Husk Ash
Ha Thanh Le1,2),*, Sang Thanh Nguyen2), and Horst-Michael Ludwig1)

(Received April 17, 2013, Accepted March 4, 2014)

Abstract: Rice husk ash (RHA) is classified as a highly reactive pozzolan. It has a very high silica content similar to that of silica
fume (SF). Using less-expensive and locally available RHA as a mineral admixture in concrete brings ample benefits to the costs,
the technical properties of concrete as well as to the environment. An experimental study of the effect of RHA blending on
workability, strength and durability of high performance fine-grained concrete (HPFGC) is presented. The results show that the
addition of RHA to HPFGC improved significantly compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and chloride penetration
resistance. Interestingly, the ratio of compressive strength to splitting tensile strength of HPFGC was lower than that of ordinary
concrete, especially for the concrete made with 20 % RHA. Compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of HPFGC
containing RHA was similar and slightly higher, respectively, than for HPFGC containing SF. Chloride penetration resistance of
HPFGC containing 10–15 % RHA was comparable with that of HPFGC containing 10 % SF.
Keywords: high performance fine-grained concrete, rice husk ash, workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength,
chloride penetration resistance.

1. Introduction et al. 2007; Khay et al. 2010). High performance fine-

The use of locally available materials as well as the use of
industrial and agricultural waste in building industry has
become a potential solution to the economic and environ-
mental problems of particularly developing countries.
Coarse aggregate is considered as the main ingredient to
produce Portland cement concrete. However, the resources
of this material are depleting in many countries or in specific
regions, therefore finding a potential substitute for coarse
aggregate is crucial. The use of sand (natural or crushed) as a
substitute for coarse aggregate to produce sand concrete was
investigated. This kind of concrete has strength comparable
with conventional Portland cement concrete. By definition,
sand concrete is therefore defined as a fine aggregate con-
crete, in which coarse aggregate is replaced by sand and fine
aggregate is by filler material (Bederina et al. 2012; Bederina
1)
F.A. Finger-Institute for Building Materials
Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Bauhaus-
University Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany.
*Corresponding Author; E-mail: lehautc@daad-alumni.de
2)
Institute of Construction Engineering, University of
Transport and Communications, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Copyright Ó The Author(s) 2014. This article is published
with open access at Springerlink.com
grained concrete (HPFGC) is considered as a new generation
of sand concrete, and can be comparable with high perfor-
mance concrete in strength and durability.
RHA is the residue of completely incinerated rice husk
under proper conditions. Rice husk, the outer covering part
of rice kernel, is an agricultural waste from the milling
process of paddy. Rice husk is abundant in many parts of the
world, especially in rice cultivating countries, like Vietnam.
Each ton of paddy rice can produce approximately 200 kg of
rice husk, which on combustion produces about 40 kg of ash
(Bui 2001). According to the’’Rice market monitor’’ report
[FAO (2012)], the global rice paddy production in 2011 was
about 723 million tons (in which the Vietnam paddy pro-
duction was about 42 million tons) that results in approxi-
mately 145 million tons of rice husks. Rice husk from paddy
rice mills is disposed directly into the environment or
sometimes is dumped or burnt in open piles on the fields.
This results in serious environmental pollution, especially
after it is disintegrated under wet conditions.
RHA is classified as a highly reactive pozzolan. It pos-
sesses a very high silica content similar to that of SF (Mehta
1994). Using less-expensive and locally available RHA as a
mineral admixture in concrete brings benefits to the econ-
omy, the technical properties of concrete and the environ-
ment as well. RHA is a porous material. Pore structure is the
most important characteristic of this material. The change of
this characteristic results in a different specific surface area
(SSA) and therefore a different pozzolanic reactivity and
different water absorption of RHA (Bui 2001; Nguyen 2011;
Le et al. 2012; Van et al. 2013). RHA has been studied to

301
replace SF as a partial Portland cement replacement, and the
results show that RHA can fully substitute SF in terms of
calcium hydroxide consumption, autogeneous shrinkage,
compressive strength and durability of high performance
concrete (Bui 2001; Van et al. 2013; Feng et al. 2004; Le
et al. 2012; Salas et al. 2009) and ultra high performance
concrete (Nguyen 2011; Nguyen et al. 2011). However, the
effect of RHA on properties of HPFGC needs additional
research.
The objective of this study is to investigate effects
imposed by RHA blending on properties of HPFGC.
Blending percentages were varied. Slump, compressive and
splitting tensile strength, abrasion resistance and chloride
penetration resistance of concrete containing RHA were
evaluated. These properties were assessed for the reference
and SF containing samples as well. The knowledge obtained
in this study can be instrumental for optimizing strength and
durability of mortar and concrete in future applications.
2.2 Mixture Proportions
HPFGC mixtures were designed based on the absolute
volume of the constituent materials (Béton de sable 1994;
Béton 1995) in which the paste volume was computed from
the void content in the sand mixture with mass ratio of
coarse to fine sand of 2.33. This ratio corresponded to the
mixture with highest granular packing density assessed
experimentally. Water binder (w/b) ratio was determined
according to ACI 211.1 and ACI 363.2R. The designed
compressive strength of HPFGC was fixed at 60 MPa. In
this study, six mixtures were designed with a constant w/b
ratio of 0.33, resulting from the binder (cement, RHA)
content of 530 kg/m3 and a filler content (RHA?LSP) of
150 kg/m3. Herein, RHA acts as a part of the binder and of
the filler. RHA was incorporated with replacement levels of
5, 10, 15, and 20 % by weight. One control mixture and one
mixture incorporating 10 % SF were prepared for compari-
son purpose. The mixture proportions of HPFGC are shown
in Table 3.

2. Experimental Program 2.3 Preparation of Test Specimens

2.1 Materials
Portland cement (PC40 conforming to Vietnamese stan-
dard TCVN 2682:1999 and is similar to CEM I 42.5 R
conforming to DIN EN 197-1), RHA, SF, limestone powder
(LSP) and two kinds of natural sand, i.e. fine sand and coarse
sand were used in this study. RHA was produced by burning
rice husk under proper temperature conditions in a simple
incinerator prototype in Vietnam. It was designed based on
the principle of the atmospheric bubbling fluidized bed
(Armesto et al. 2002). The obtained ash was ground in a ball
mill. The physical properties and the chemical composition
of the cement, RHA, SF and LSP are summarized in Table 1.
The physical properties of fine and coarse sand are presented
in Table 2. In addition, a polycarboxylate-based superplast-
icizer (Viscocrete-V3000) was used.
All mixtures were prepared in a compulsory mixer with
total mixing time of 8 min. Coarse and fine sand and powder
materials (cement, LSP, RHA) were mixed in dry conditions
for a period of 2 min. Next, about 80 % of the water was
added, whereupon the concrete mixture was mixed for 2 min.
Finally, about 20 % of the water and superplasticizer were
added and the concrete mixture was mixed for 4 min. Slump
test were conducted to evaluate workability of mixtures
according to ASTM C143. Cylinders of 150 9 300 mm2
were cast for determination of compressive and splitting
tensile strength. Cylinders of 100 9 200 mm2 were cast for
determination of chloride penetration resistance. Cube spec-
imens of 70.7 9 70.7 9 70.7 mm3 were cast for determi-
nation of abrasion resistance. All specimens were compacted
in two layers on a vibrating table. Each layer was vibrated for
20 s. The moulds were covered with polyethylene sheets and

Table 1 Chemical composition and physical properties of cement and mineral admixtures.
Chemical analyses (%) PC40 RHA SF LSP
SiO2 21.29 86.81 96.20 0.17
Al2O3 5.72 0.50 0.70 0.02
Fe2O3 3.30 0.87 0.30 0.04
CaO 63.18 1.04 0.00 54.88
MgO 1.10 0.85 0.10 0.45
Na2O 0.12 0.69 0.06 0.02
K2O 0.30 3.16 0.37 0.04
LOI 0.193 4.6 1.60 43.46
Density (g/cm3) 3.10 2.24 2.26 2.72
Mean particle size (lm) 16.12 8.42 0.29 18.19
Blaine SSA[BET-SSA] 0.369 [23.32] [26.43] 0.321
(m2/g)
LOI loss on ignition.

302 | International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials (Vol.8, No.4, December 2014)
 Table 2 Sieve analysis and physical properties of the fine and coarse sand.
Passing percentage (%)
Fine sand Coarse sand
Sieve size (mm)
4.75 100 100
2.36 100 94.9
1.18 99.7 72.2
0.6 89.1 38.2
0.3 42.9 14.1
0.15 1.1 0.6
Fineness modulus 1.9 2.8
3
Density (g/cm ) 2.6 2.6
Absorption (%) 2.0 1.9

Table 3 Mixture proportions of HPFGC investigated.

Mixture Cement (kg/ RHA (kg/m3) SF (kg/m3) LSP (kg/m3) Water (kg/m3) Coarse sand Fine sand (kg/ SP (%)
m3) (kg/m3) m3)
REF 530 0 0 150 175 1,045 448 0.12
5 % RHA 505 25 0 125 175 1,055 452 0.12
10 % RHA 482 48 0 102 175 1,064 456 0.11
15 % RHA 461 69 0 81 175 1,073 460 0.11
20 % RHA 442 88 0 62 175 1,081 463 0.11
10 % SF 482 0 48 102 175 1,064 456 0.11
SP superplasticizer.

moistened for 24 h. After 1 day, the specimens were de-
moulded, and stored in water at 20 ± 2 °C until testing at 3,
7, and 28 days. Compressive and splitting tensile strength of
concrete were determined in agreement with ASTM C39 and
ASTM C496, respectively. Chloride penetration resistance
was determined at 28 days in agreement with ASTM C1202.
The tests were carried out in triplicate and the average values
were reported. Abrasion resistance of HPFGC was deter-
mined at 28 days following Böhme method (CEN 2003). A
dried specimen is held in contact with a cast iron disc with a
pressure of 0.6 daN/cm2. The disc rotates at 30 ± 1 rpm. For
each specimen, the disc runs 140 revolutions. During the
process, the specimen is progressively rotated through 90o,
and sand with maximum particle size of 2 mm is spread on
the disc. The abrasion index (g/mm2) is calculated by
dividing the mass loss of each specimen by its abraded area.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1 Workability
Slump data of the fresh concrete are presented in Fig. 1. It
can be seen that the control mixture had highest slump
compared to mixtures containing RHA and SF. Increasing
RHA content resulted in a lower slump of fresh concrete. As
reported in (Le et al. 2012; Van et al. 2013), RHA is a porous
material with macro and meso-pores inside and on surface of
the particles resulting in a very large SSA. SF also has a very
large SSA, significantly larger than that of cement, due to its
very fine particles (Table 1). RHA will absorb a certain
amount of mixing water. Using RHA or SF as replacements
for cement leads to an increase in SSA of the binder
(cement ? RHA/SF) thus to a decrease in free water com-
pared to the mixture made without RHA or SF. Conse-
quently, mixtures incorporating RHA or SF had lower
slump. This effect was more pronounced, when a higher
content of RHA was used.
3.2 Compressive Strength and Splitting Tensile
Strength
3.2.1 Compressive Strength
In Fig. 2, compressive strength of HPFGC containing
RHA/SF and control HPFGC at 3, 7 and 28 days is shown.
Incorporating RHA increased compressive strength of
HPFGC compared to control concrete regardless of ages,
except for mixture containing 20 % RHA at 3 days. A
highest value of 62.3 MPa was obtained for compressive
strength at 10 % RHA blending, and the lowest value of
54.0 MPa for the control sample. As seen in Fig. 2, the
optimum content of RHA tended to be higher at later age,

International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials (Vol.8, No.4, December 2014) | 303
 140 diminishes at further maturation because of cement hydra-
tion, and causes a prolonged hydration (Nguyen et al. 2011).
120 The internal curing by RHA could be an important reason
for the improvement of compressive strength at later age of
100 HPFGC containing high RHA content, e.g. the HPFGC
Slump (mm)

made with 15 and 20 % RHA at 28 days and later ages.

80
However, the addition of very high content of RHA is
supposed to induce adverse effects on compressive strength,
60
especially at early ages, e.g. 3-day compressive strength of
40 HPFGC containing 20 % RHA. This is consistent with with
the 7-days compressive strength results of UHPC (Nguyen
20 et al. 2011). At high blending percentages of RHA, the
concrete will contain a significantly reduced cement content.
0 This diluting effect may account for the lower strength at
REF 5% RHA 10% RHA 15% RHA 20% RHA 10% SF
3 days (Kjellsen et al. 1999; Siddique and Khan 2011).
Fig. 1 Slump of fresh HPFGC. Besides, RHA absorbs a certain amount of water during
mixing resulting in the lack of available water in the system
for cement hydration. Moreover, RHA particles are them-
80 selves weakest points in the hardened matrix due to their
3 days 7 days 28 days pore structure, as mentioned in (Le et al. 2012).
70
As seen in Fig. 2, the compressive strength of 10 and
Compressive strength (MPa)

60 15 % RHA HPFGC was similar to that of the 10 % SF

sample at 3, 7, and 28 days. Indeed, RHA is not only
50 comparable with SF with respects to the enhancement of the
packing density of granular mixtures, but also on the poz-
40 zolanic reaction (Le et al. 2012; Nguyen et al. 2011). RHA is
however assumed to improve compressive strength due to
30
the internal water curing and the lower effective w/b ratio of
20 concrete, as mentioned previously.

10
0 It is found that the trend in splitting tensile strength was
REF 5% RHA 10% RHA 15% RHA 20% RHA 10% SF
Fig. 2 Compressive strength of HPFGC.
i.e. 10 % RHA at 3 days, 15 % RHA at 7 days and 10–20 %
RHA at 28 days, and may be 15–20 % RHA at later ages,
e.g. 56 and 90 days as found in (Le et al. 2012).
The positive effect of RHA on compressive strength will
be due to the high pozzolanity of RHA resulting from the
large SSA and the high silica content. RHA reacts inten-
sively with the water and the calcium hydroxide generated
from the hydration of cement to produce additional C–S–H
(Bui 2001; Nguyen et al. 2011; Safiuddin et al. 2011). The
additional C–S–H itself is the main strength-contributing
compound, and also fills in the capillary pores to improve
the microstructure of the paste matrix and transition zone in
concrete resulting in enhancement of compressive strength.
Another reason is that the finer RHA particles can fill the
empty spaces between the cement particles leading to higher
density of the paste matrix (Safiuddin et al. 2011). Moreover,
the increase in compressive strength of concrete made with
RHA at more matured conditions is also due to the internal
curing of RHA in the cement paste. RHA with porous
structure may absorb free water during mixing leading to
lower w/b ratios of RHA mixtures. This amount of water is
released from the pores, when the relative humidity in paste
3.2.2 Splitting Tensile Strength
almost similar with that of compressive strength (Fig. 3).
Generally up to a replacement level of 15 %, splitting tensile
strength of RHA containing HPFGC was higher than that of
the control sample. The highest value of 6.49 MPa was
obtained for splitting tensile strength at 10 % RHA
replacement, and the lowest value of 5.12 MPa was obtained
for the control sample. HPFGC proportioned with 20 %
RHA had lower splitting tensile strength with respect to the
control sample. It is well documented that splitting tensile
strength is mainly governed by aggregate-paste bond (Nazari
and Riahi 2011; Parra et al. 2011). RHA incorporation
refined the transition zone between cement matrix and
aggregate, and reduced the amount of large calcium
hydroxide crystals and ettringite due to additional C–S–H
phases generated from pozzolanic reaction, as mentioned in
the previous section.
Generally speaking, shrinkage will be stimulated at higher
cement contents (De Schutter et al. 2008). This may lead to
crack formation along the aggregate-paste interface and, as a
consequence, to a lower tensile splitting strength (Nguyen
et al. 2011). As discussed previously, RHA particles absorb a
certain amount of mixing water into their pores. It has been
proposed that at later age, the absorbed water released from
inside of the pores to the surrounding cement matrix will
cause the relative humidity in the interior not to drop,

304 | International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials (Vol.8, No.4, December 2014)
resulting in significantly less autogeneous shrinkage due to
self-desiccation (Nguyen 2011).
The decrease in splitting tensile strength of 20 % RHA
HPFGC compared to the control sample may be due to
abundance of RHA particles that can be emphasized as
porous micro-aggregate. Those weaken the matrix and hence
reduce the split strength of concrete.
Figure 3 also shows that splitting tensile strength of
samples containing 10 and 15 % RHA was comparable with
that of sample containing 10 % SF, irrespective of ages. The
higher splitting tensile strength of the SF sample compared
to the control sample can also be explained by refinement of
the transition zone due to the pozzolanic and filler effect.
This is consistent with another study (Bhanja and Sengupta
2005).
3.2.3 Ratio of Compressive Strength to Splitting
Tensile Strength
In Table 4, the ratio of compressive to splitting tensile
strength is presented. The ratio of RHA HPFGC was higher
than that of the SF sample regardless of the RHA content.
Only the ratio of HPFGC containing 20 % RHA was higher
than that of control sample. The highest ratio amounted
11.10 at a RHA content of 20 %.
In this study, the ratio of compressive to splitting tensile
strength of HPFGC was in the range of 9.6–11.0. Whereas
the ratio of ordinary concrete is in the range of 10.5–15.2
(Shetty 2003). This indicates HPFGC to have higher
8.0
3 days 7 days
7.0
Splitting tensile strength (MPa)
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
REF 5% RHA 10% RHA 15% RHA 20% RHA 10% SF
Fig. 3 Splitting tensile strength of HPFGC.
Mixtures
REF
5 % RHA
10 % RHA
15 % RHA
20 % RHA
10 % SF
splitting tensile strength than ordinary concrete at equal
compressive strength. In this study, sand was used as the
main aggregate, possibly resulting in the reduction in wall
effect in the cement paste in the vicinity of the aggregate
surfaces and the reduction in thickness of the interface
transition zone (Nguyen 2011; Ollivier et al. 1995). Conse-
quently, the splitting tensile strength of the HPFGC was
improved.
3.3 Mechanical Abrasion Resistance
Abrasion index of HSPC determined at 28 days is shown
in Fig. 4. The higher abrasion index, the lower mechanical
abrasion resistance is. The result shows that mechanical
abrasion resistance of HPFGC was very high. RHA con-
taining HPFGC had a lower abrasion index, indicating better
abrasion resistance than that of the control sample. The
lowest value for the abrasion index of 0.0006 g/mm2 was
found for the 10 % RHA blend. It is generally known that
compressive strength is one of the most important factors
influencing the abrasion resistance of concrete (Horszczaruk
2005). This is supported by the outcomes of this study (see
Figs. 2 and 4). The abrasion index of 10 % SF concrete was
similar to those of 10 and of 15 % RHA samples. It is
closely related to the results of compressive strength above.
3.4 Chloride Penetration Resistance
Charge passed of HPFGC at 28 days is displayed in Fig. 5.
It can be seen that RHA or SF incorporation substantially
decreased the charge passed of concrete, indicating an
increase in resistance to chloride penetration. Increasing
28 days RHA replacement percentage decreases charge passed. The
lowest value of charge passed was obtained for 20 % RHA
sample as 261 coulombs, and the highest value was found for
the control sample as 2,782 coulombs. For concrete mixed
with 10 % SF, the value of charge passed was also signifi-
cantly lower than that of the control concrete, and similar to
those of the concretes mixed with 15 and 20 % RHA.
The chloride penetration resistance of mortar and concrete
is one of the most essential aspects concerning the durability
of concrete structures. The reinforcement steel bar in con-
crete starts to corrode due to depassivation, when the chlo-
ride concentration of mortar or concrete exceeds a certain
threshold (Alonso et al. 2000; Thomas 1996). The incor-
poration of a pozzolan is generally accepted to improve the
resistance to chloride penetration and reduce the chloride-
Table 4 Compressive and splitting tensile strength at 28 days.
Compressive strength (MPa) Splitting tensile strength (MPa) Compressive/Splitting tensile
strength
54.0 5.1 10.6
55.4 5.6 10.0
62.3 6.5 9.6
60.3 6.0 10.1
60.2 5.4 11.1
59.0 6.3 9.4
International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials (Vol.8, No.4, December 2014) | 305
 0.0010
0.0009
0.0008
Abrasion index (g/mm2 )
0.0007
0.0006
0.0005
0.0004
0.0003
0.0002
0.0001
0.0000
REF 5% RHA 10% RHA 15% RHA 20% RHA 10% SF
Fig. 4 Abrasion of HPFGC at 28 days.
3000
2500
Charge passed (Coulomb)
2000
1500
1000
500
0
REF 5% RHA 10% RHA 15% RHA 20% RHA 10% SF
Fig. 5 Chloride penetration of HPFGC.
induced corrosion initiation period of steel reinforcement.
The improvement is mainly due to the reduction of perme-
ability/diffusivity, particularly to chloride ion transportation
of the concrete containing mineral admixtures (Bijen 1996;
Thomas and Bamforth 1999). As mentioned previously,
RHA incorporation refines the cement matrix and reduces
the amount of large calcium hydroxide due to additional
C–S–H phases generated from the pozzolanic reaction.
Furthermore, RHA with pore structure might be considered
as internal curing agent to significantly prolong hydration of
the blended cement. Therefore, the permeability of concrete
is reduced. The pore-refining capacity of RHA in concrete
has been assumed to improve resistance to chloride pene-
tration (Salas et al. 2009; Chindaprasirt et al. 2008; Ganesan
et al. 2008; Rodrı́guez de Sensale 2010).
4. Conclusions
This study analyses aspects of compressive strength,
splitting tensile strength, abrasion resistance and durability
in terms of chloride penetration resistance of HPFGC con-
taining RHA with various replacement levels. For compari-
son, control and SF containing samples were evaluated for
306 | International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials (Vol.8, No.4, December 2014)
these properties. Based on the experimental results in the
present study, the following conclusions can be drawn.
(1) Workability of HPFGC containing RHA decreases at
the higher replacement levels compared to that of the
control mixture due to the pore structure of RHA.
(2) Incorporating RHA increased compressive strength of
HPFGC compared to that of the control concrete
regardless of ages, except for concrete containing 20 %
RHA at 3 days. Compressive strength of 10 and 15 %
RHA blended HPFGC is similar to that of 10 % SF
sample at 3, 7, and 28 days.
(3) In replacement range of 5–20 % RHA, there exists an
optimum RHA content resulting in the highest com-
pressive strength of concrete at each age. The optimum
content is higher at later age, i.e. 10 % RHA at 3 days,
15 % RHA at 7 days and 10–20 % RHA at 28 days.
(4) Up to 15 % RHA replacement, splitting tensile strength
of RHA containing HPFGC is higher than that of the
control sample. Splitting tensile strength of samples
containing 10 and 15 % RHA is comparable with that
of the sample containing 10 % SF, irrespective of ages.
(5) Addition of RHA provides a dramatic improvement in
chloride penetration resistance of HPFGC. The
increase in RHA replacement level increases the
chloride penetration resistance. The resistance to
chloride penetration of concretes mixed with 15 and
20 % RHA is similar to that of concrete mixed with
10 % SF.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express thanks to Ministry of
Education and Training of Vietnam, F.A. Finger-Institute for
Building Materials Science, German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD) and Department of Construction Materials,
University of Transport and Communications in Vietnam
for funding and support. The authors are also grateful to
Dipl.-Ing. Müller, M. for helpful discussions.
Open Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License which permits any use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original author(s) and the source are credited.
References
AFNOR. Béton (1995): béton de sable, Paris, France, NF P18-500.
Alonso, C., Andrade, C., Castellote, M., & Castro, P. (2000).
Chloride threshold values to depassivate reinforcing bars
embedded in a standardized opc mortar. Cement and
Concrete Research, 30(7), 1047–1055.
Armesto, L., Bahillo, A., Veijonen, K., Cabanillas, A., & Otero,
J. (2002). Combustion behaviour of rice husk in a bubbling
fluidised bed. Biomass and Bioenergy, 23(3), 171–179.
Bederina, M., Gotteicha, M., Belhadj, B., Dheily, R. M.,
Khenfer, M. M., & Queneudec, M. (2012). Drying
shrinkage studies of wood sand concrete-effect of different
wood treatments. Construction and Building Materials, 36,
1066–1075.
Bederina, M., Marmoret, L., Mezreb, K., Khenfer, M. M., Bali,
A., & Quéneudec, M. (2007). Effect of the addition of
wood shavings on thermal conductivity of sand concretes:
Experimental study and modelling. Construction and
Building Materials, 21(3), 662–668.
Béton de sable, caractéristique et pratiques d’utilisation, Syn-
thése du Projet National de Recherche et Développement
SABLOCRETE. (1994). Presses de l’Ecole National des
Ponts et Chaussées, Paris, France.
Bhanja, S., & Sengupta, B. (2005). Influence of silica fume on
the tensile strength of concrete. Cement and Concrete
Research, 35(4), 743–747.
Bijen, J. (1996). Benefits of slag and fly ash. Construction and
Building Materials, 10(5), 309–314.
Bui, D. D. (2001). Rice husk ash as a mineral admixture for
high performance concrete. PhD Thesis, Delft University of
Technology, Delft, Netherland.
CEN. (2003). Concrete paving blocks - requirements and test
methods: Measurement of abrasion according to the böhme
test, Brüssel, Belgium, DIN EN 1338.
Chindaprasirt, P., Rukzon, S., & Sirivivatnanon, V. (2008). Resis-
tance to chloride penetration of blended portland cement
mortar containing palm oil fuel ash, rice husk ash and fly ash.
Construction and Building Materials, 22(5), 932–938.
De Schutter, G., Bartos, P., Domone, P., & Gibbs, J. (2008). Self-
compacting concrete. Caithness, UK: Whittles Publishing.
FAO. (2012). Rice market monitor, http://reliefweb.int/sites/relief
web.int/files/resources/ap88e.pdf.
Feng, Q., Yamamichi, H., Shoya, M., & Sugita, S. (2004).
Study on the pozzolanic properties of rice husk ash by
hydrochloric acid pretreatment. Cement and Concrete
Research, 34(3), 521–526.
Ganesan, K., Rajagopal, K., & Thangavel, K. (2008). Rice husk
ash blended cement: Assessment of optimal level of
replacement for strength and permeability properties of
concrete. Construction and Building Materials, 22(8),
1675–1683.
Horszczaruk, E. (2005). Abrasion resistance of high-strength
concrete in hydraulic structures. Wear, 259(1–6), 62–69.
Khay, S. E. E., Neji, J., & Loulizi, A. (2010). Shrinkage
properties of compacted sand concrete used in pavements.
Construction and Building Materials, 24(9), 1790–1795.
Kjellsen, K.-O., Wallevik, O.-H., & Hallgren, M. (1999). On the
compressive strength development of high-performance
concrete and paste-effect of silica fume. Materials and
Structures, 32(1), 63–69.
Le, H. T., Rößler, C., Siewert, K., Ludwig, H.-M. (2012). Rice
husk ash as a pozzolanic viscosity modifying admixture for
International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials (Vol.8, No.4, December 2014) | 307
self-compacting high performance mortar. In Proceedings
of the 18th international conference on building materials,
Weimar, Germany. F.A. Finger-Institut für Baustoffkunde,
0538–0545.
Le, H. T., Siewert, K., Ludwig, H.-M. (2012). Synergistic
effects of rice husk ash and fly ash on properties of self-
compacting high performance concrete. In Proceedings of
symposium on Ultra high performance concrete and
Nanotechnology for High performance construction mate-
rials, Kassel, Germany, 187–195.
Mehta, P. K. (1994). Rice husk ash: A unique supplementary
cementing material. In Proceedings of Advances in con-
crete technology, Center for mineral and Energy Technol-
ogy, Ottawa, Canada, 419–444.
Nazari, A., & Riahi, S. (2011). Splitting tensile strength of
concrete using ground granulated blast furnace slag and
sio2 nanoparticles as binder. Energy and Buildings, 43(4),
864–872.
Nguyen, V. T. (2011). Rice husk ash as a mineral admixture for
ultra high performance concrete. PhD thesis, Delft,
Netherland.
Nguyen, V. T., Ye, G., Breugel, K. V., Fraaij, A. L. A., & Bui,
D. D. (2011). The study of using rice husk ash to produce
ultra high performance concrete. Construction and Building
Materials, 25(4), 2030–2035.
Ollivier, J. P., Maso, J. C., & Bourdette, B. (1995). Interfacial
transition zone in concrete. Advanced Cement Based
Materials, 2(1), 30–38.
Parra, C., Valcuende, M., & Gómez, F. (2011). Splitting tensile
strength and modulus of elasticity of self-compacting
concrete. Construction and Building Materials, 25(1),
201–207.
Rodrı́guez de Sensale, G. (2010). Effect of rice-husk ash on
durability of cementitious materials. Cement & Concrete
Composites, 32(9), 718–725.
Safiuddin, M., West, J. S., & Soudki, K. A. (2011). Flowing
ability of the mortars formulated from self-compacting
concretes incorporating rice husk ash. Construction and
Building Materials, 25(2), 973–978.
Salas, A., Delvasto, S., De Gutierrez, R. M., & Lange, D.
(2009). Comparison of two processes for treating rice husk
ash for use in high performance concrete. Cement and
Concrete Research, 39(9), 773–778.
Shetty, M. S. (2003). Concrete technology (theory and prac-
tice). New Delhi, India: S Chand & Co Ltd.
Siddique, R., & Khan, I. M. (2011). Supplementary cementing
materials. Berlin Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.
Thomas, M. (1996). Chloride thresholds in marine concrete.
Cement and Concrete Research, 26(4), 513–519.
Thomas, M. D. A., & Bamforth, P. B. (1999). Modelling
chloride diffusion in concrete: Effect of fly ash and slag.
Cement and Concrete Research, 29(4), 487–495.
Van, V. -T. -A., Rößler, C., Bui, D. -D., & Ludwig, H. -M.
(2013). Mesoporous structure and pozzolanic reactivity of
rice husk ash in cementitious system. Construction and
Building Materials, 43, 208–216.